1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to muzzle-loading rifles, pistols, cannons, and other firearms and, more particularly, to an improved cartridge arrangement for loading these firearms which allows the loading of the entire cartridge into the barrel through the muzzle without the use of additional implements or devices.
2. Description of Related Art
While muzzle loading firearms would be considered obsolete with the invention of modern breech loading cartridge rifles, there has long been a small degree of interest in the manufacture and use of such firearms. In recent years, the interest has increased greatly because such firearms are not subject to all of the restrictions on manufacture and sale that are applied to modern breech loading cartridge firearms. That interest has greatly increased in recent years because of new provisions in the hunting laws that permit extended seasons for hunting certain animals such as deer, which are only open for the use of muzzle loading rifles.
Furthermore, other factors which have led to increased and more widespread interest in muzzle loading firearms, are modern developments such as the development of a black powder substitute commonly known under the Trademark Pyrodex® as well as developments in the firearm itself such as the change from an external hammer to an inline action that externally resembles very much a standard high power bolt action rifle. Also, there have been many improvements in projectiles from the original round ball or Minie bullet and particularly the development of sabot projectiles employing a subcaliber jacketed rifle bullet which greatly improves the accuracy and range of the firearm.
However, the basic steps of loading a muzzle loading firearm have continued. To load the rifle, it is necessary to stand it on its butt with the open muzzle upward and then pour a measured charge of propellant powder into the open muzzle usually using a powder horn or a measuring device on the end of a bulk powder container to ensure that all of the powder enters the bore. When a round ball is used, it is necessary to use a patch which is placed over the muzzle and pressed downward by the round ball until it is seated within the bore. A ramrod is then used to force the ball and patch down the bore to bring all of the powder together into a combustion chamber at the bottom which is then closed off by the patched ball. After the ramrod is removed, the rifle is lifted up, the hammer cocked and a percussion cap placed on the nipple, after which the rifle is ready to be fired again. The foregoing procedure can take a period of time up to a minute or more, particularly after the barrel has become fouled from prior shots and if the user is determined to get a high degree of accuracy by the use of a proper fitting ball and patch which may require considerable force in starting down the muzzle. This slowness of loading was the reason that for military purposes smooth bore muzzle loaders prevailed until well into the 19th century.
An important step forward historically was the development of the Minie bullet which was roughly conical with a large hollow base and external grooves to receive a lubricant. The development of this bullet speeded up the loading process by eliminating the patch and by using a bullet just slightly smaller than the bore diameter of the barrel was easily forced downward onto the powder and upon ignition the thin walls of the bullet expanded and together with a lubricant provided an effective seal. This arrangement in turn led to the development of integral cartridges formed from paper which contained the powder charge and the bullet sealed together in a paper container. Loading was then speeded up since it was only necessary to tear off the powder end of the cartridge, pour the powder down the barrel and then using the ramrod force home the paper cartridge and bullet together. While such arrangements were widely used in the middle of the 19th century before development of the breech loading rifle, they did require considerable labor in the preparation of the cartridge, did allow possibility of spilling the powder and were generally limited to projectiles of the Minie bullet type.
Modern efforts to speed up the loading of muzzle loading rifles, particularly in the field, have tended to take a different tack from that used many years ago. These approaches have generally required the use of a cartridge assembly which includes a cylindrical body closed off in some means at the bottom end which is intended to be placed over the muzzle of the rifle. A bore extends upward and contains a premeasured charge of powder and is closed off at the upper end by means of the bullet which may either be a round ball and a patch or some other similar arrangement. Typical devices for this purpose are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,623 issued Sep. 5, 1989 to Delap et al. in which the bore at the bottom end is closed off by means of a quarter turn plug valve and the upper end has a snap cover with a captive hinge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,024 issued Mar. 10, 1992 to Duke discloses an outer cylinder arrangement designed to fit over the end of the muzzle and holding two smaller cylinders each closed off at each end by means of a rupturable membrane with the bottom cylinder holding the premeasured powder charge and the upper cylinder holding the ball and wad. This device is simply placed over the end of the barrel and a ramrod used to break the membranes and force the ball and the powder charge down the barrel. A somewhat similar arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,615 issued Mar. 24, 1992 to Kearns. This arrangement shows a device including a starter ramrod designed to fit over the barrel and uses tubular cartridges containing the premeasured powder charge, a wad or patch and a projectile which is inserted in the device and then pressed downward by the starter rod. A similar arrangement carrying multiple charges is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,412 issued Jan. 26, 1993 to Mazza.
The problem of all of the above devices is that they require an expensive apparatus which, while reusable, consists of separate parts which may easily lost in the field and must be retained for subsequent reuse. While such arrangements have shown some popularity their complexity, cost and bulk all represent shortcomings which are solved by the present invention.